Bits & Pieces
by In Darkness Is Light
Summary: While Kakashi never flat out admitted he cared, Rin could always tell from the little things he did. Series of drabbles & oneshots. KakaRin.
1. Everything I Own

_**IDIL's Note:** Hello all! This will be a KakaRin oneshot/drabble project that I will - hopefully - update regularly. Some will be longer, some will be shorter, but I hope you will enjoy all of them nonetheless. :)This first chapter is called Everything I Own, and is inspired by the N'Sync song of the same name._

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Naruto. If I did, ObiRin would be canon. XD

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"So, are you sure you wish to go through with this mission?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"There are different ones…less risky and less…invasive."

"It's fine," she shook her head. "I'm considered old enough to do these types of missions, aren't I?"

"Well, yes, but barely. Surely I could interest you in a medical mission instead," the Sandaime Hokage persisted.

"No, this will be just fine," she declined, staring at the floor tiles, "The funds for this mission are…perfect; they're exactly what I need right now."

He sighed, leaning forward in his chair to sign the mission statement. "Well, if you're sure…"

Just then a cloud of smoke engulfed the room, and there came the sound of a small 'pop' as someone materialized themselves in the office. With his coal eye he scanned the area, attempting to decipher what was going on between the two people inside; he was especially surprised to see the girl. "Rin, what are you doing here?"

"I believe we should be asking you the same question, Hatake Kakashi," chuckled the voice of the Third. "As for Rin, she is here on a mission debriefing; it's important since she leaves day after tomorrow," he motioned over to the girl who fidgeted nervously on the other side of his desk, purposely avoiding both their stares.

"I see," Kakashi said smoothly, "Rin, could you please excuse us one moment? I have a…private matter I wish to discuss with Hokage-sama."

She stared up in surprise at him: Kakashi had never requested a private discussion with the Hokage. He had always allowed her to remain present for their conversations, and when asked about it, he merely claimed that he had no secrets to hide from her, and that it didn't matter. She had felt comforted by the statement, and that's why she was so unsure of what to do now, when he requested she leave. She swallowed her nervousness, determined to keep her composure. "Sure. I mean, if that's all right with you, Hokage-sama."

"I suppose so. We will continue our debriefing once Kakashi has left."

She nodded and bowed once before exiting the room. She was still curious though, and so she leaned against the door from the outside, pretending to use the door as a support while listening in on their conversation surreptitiously. She knew it was wrong, but hey, wasn't he the one who said he didn't have any secrets to keep from her anyway? And what was she supposed to do while she waited for him to finish his meeting?

Meanwhile inside, Kakashi seemed to be all business, cutting the Hokage's small-talk questions short. "I want to know the details of the mission."

"Kakashi, you know that I cannot share those with you; they are strictly confidential," he told the boy, having become rather accustomed with his overprotection of his remaining teammate. He saw Kakashi opening his mouth to protest and he held up a hand. "But…I believe that her family should know about this, and since you're listed as next of kin on her medical sheet – " The man paused as he saw the look of shock on the boy's face " – I believe that that may entitle you to some basic knowledge. Rin is taking on a kunoichi mission, and an A-rank one at that."

Kakashi's eyes flashed dangerously at the older man's words. "Excuse me? A kunoichi mission? No, that's impossible. I want her taken off of it now."

"I'm sorry to say that I cannot do that. It is her decision to take on this mission. She even specifically requested one like this."

"Requested?"

The Sandaime Hokage sighed wearily, contemplating what was the best way to explain this to the boy before him. Reclining in his chair, he figured that a vague description of the truth would have to suffice. "She chose it for it's monetary merits."

Kakashi mulled this information over, trying to determine what were the reasons for her specific attention to the mission's price tag. The only logic answer he could come up with was that she was in financial trouble, possibly even at risk of losing her home. It irked him greatly that she had been keeping this from him, that she hadn't allowed him to help her. What was wrong with her? Why hadn't she just told him? Kami-sama only knew that he had quite a bit of cash from his father's estate, and he would have gladly given all of it to her in order to help. That's what he was here for after all, wasn't it: to help her? To take care of her? Wasn't that the exact promise he'd made to Obito; that he would take care of her? "Is there no way to find a replacement for this mission?"

"I could find one, but the decision is up to her whether or not she wants to give it up."

"She will give it up, because I have a mission for her."

The Sandaime stared at Kakashi in muted surprise. "Pardon me?"

"I would like to put forth a mission request. I am in need of someone to take care of my home while I am out with ANBU on missions. They are to come to my home twice a week and do a thorough cleaning job as well as prepare some food the night before I return. The duration of this mission will last three months, and I am flexible with dates and times as I understand the person will be taking on other missions as well that may make them travel outside of Konoha. The pay for this mission is exactly the same as the pay for her currently scheduled mission, and the payment will be either cash or goods equivalent to the value of the money. There is only one person I want to take on this mission, and she is my former teammate, Rin."

"But Kakashi, this is a D-rank mission; I cannot charge you that much for one of those."

"Then upgrade it to an A-rank. Those ant infestations in the bathroom are enough to scare even the bravest of shinobi, and life-threatening chemicals may be required for their extermination. It's as life-threatening a mission as any."

Taking out his pen, the Sandaime chuckled as he wrote up the mission request. "You must really care about her."

"I swore to protect her," Kakashi said stiffly. "This is merely included as part of the protection package."

"She won't like this."

"She doesn't have to. Did I mention anything about mandatory enjoyment while carrying out the mission?"

"Perhaps we shall bring her in and ask her opinion."

"She will say no. I request that you please reassign her from that mission to this one, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, perhaps that would be best," he agreed. "You are dismissed, Hatake Kakashi."

"Yes, Hokage-sama, thank you." He disappeared with another poof, materializing himself just outside the door. "Your turn," he shot a fake smile in Rin's direction, propping himself against the door as she shut it behind her, wanting to hear everything.

"I regret to inform you Rin, that you have been reassigned."

"What? Why?! Hokage-sama, perhaps you have misunderstood. I _need _this mission; it's the only way I'll be able to keep my home. As you know, I have forgone quite a number of missions and medical supervision shifts at the hospital in order to take care of my brother. I have spent all the funds I have acquired thus far on nurses and medication to help him get better," she hung her head miserably, "Now that he's…gone…I don't really have much to live on…"

"I understand your situation," he assured her, "but this mission will not infringe on the monetary benefits of the previous mission. In fact, the pays are equivalent."

She surveyed him sceptically, wondering just what he had gotten her into. "What does this mission entail?"

"Your mission is to become, for a period of three months, the official cleaner of the Hatake household. You are to tidy his home twice a week, and prepare a meal the night before he is to return from a mission."

"But that's a D-rank! No way the two missions have the same pay!"

"I have been assured by Hatake Kakashi that some of the messes in his home may be so biohazardous that they may endanger your life in much the same way an A-rank mission would."

She stared at him disbelievingly; her mind unable to comprehend just what was going on. "But…But…"

The Sandaime smiled at her over the table, clearly amused by the situation that was unfolding. "If that is all, you may be dismissed."

Rin nodded dumbly, leaving the room in a stunned state. What the hell was Kakashi doing? She planned to ask him just that as soon as she left the room but he had already disappeared and the other times she had tried, he brushed her off, claiming that he requested the mission only because the ants really _were _threatening to invade his home and she was the only one he trusted enough to let in the apartment when he was gone.

In reality, he avoided her questions because of what he had heard her say that day in the office. He hadn't even known that her brother had died, and that she had exhausted all her resources in order to properly care for him until his time had come. It still bothered him greatly that she hadn't been able to tell him about her troubles, both emotional and financial. He may not have been the best people person, but he would have definitely helped her with what he could. And that was why he had requested the mission; he had to show her that he would be there to help her with whatever she needed help with. He would take care of her, just like he promised.

When the time came for her "mission" to end, he took her to an condominium in the more respectable, higher luxury side of Konoha and lead her up the stairs to one of the doors. He stuck the key in the lock and told her to enter; she marvelled at the well-furnished and spacious place, and then asked him if this was where he would be moving.

"No," he told her, "this is where you will be moving."

Leave it to Kakashi to turn an overwhelmingly kind proposition into a cold command, but Rin didn't mind. She was much too in awe of the place, in awe of him and what he'd done. "This is too much, I cannot accept it."

"You must," he informed her, "it's half of your pay check."

"Kakashi, you can't…no, I _really_ cannot accept this. It's too much."

"You must," he repeated. "I already signed an agreement with the land owner. This is now your home. If it makes you feel any better, I took the liberty of cancelling your current apartment lease with your former landlord and moved all your things here. Realistically speaking, if you want a home, you cannot back out of this."

"But…Kakashi…how can I ever pay you back for this?"

"You already have. You completed your mission successfully. I was highly impressed."

"You can't be serious, this has to be a dream. All of this is really…mine? But, where'd you get the money for all of this?"

"Yes, it is yours. You needn't worry about anything for the condo is already paid off, including the monthly maintenance fees. And where I got the money is unimportant. Just please accept this." He pulled a stuffed envelope from his pocket. "Oh," he passed it to her, "and this of course. The rest of your pay."

Rin looked about ready to burst into tears. "Kakashi! I…I…! Thank you so much!" She leaped at him, embracing him tightly in what could only be expressed as uncontained appreciation and happiness.

He gingerly returned the embrace, still uncomfortable with the thought that if it weren't for him mistakenly finding out, she would have been embracing – and doing Kami knows what else – with a stranger. He pulled away, but held onto her shoulders, his eye boring through hers. "I just have one small request from you." She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure Kakashi, anything you want!"

"Please don't keep things from me. This is what I'm here for: to take care of you. I promised him, didn't I?"

She laughed nervously, wiping away the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "Somehow, I don't think this was what Obito had in mind when he said that."

"It doesn't matter, it's what I feel obligated to do." He shook his head, and corrected himself. "It's what I need to do. And you're…you're the only one I have left," he stared at the ground, embarrassed at his declaration. "I need to take care of you. It doesn't matter what it takes."

She smiled warmly up at him; he could be real sweet when he wanted to be. "Then, I have a request too. I want you to let me keep helping you clean your home, and you have to let me finish healing you when I say you need to be healed. Deal?"

"I can't agree to the first part."

"Why not? You're practically keeping your promise! You say you need to take care of me because I'm all you have left? Well…in case you didn't notice Kakashi, you're all I have left too. And you can't exactly take care of me very well if you're not in top shape, right? So, let me take care of you too!"

He smiled casually at her from behind the mask. "Ok, sure. Now go and explore your new home."

She grinned happily, taking the set of keys from his hands. "Thanks Kakashi, I really appreciate this. You. All of it."

He nodded, heading towards the door. "And you know…if you ever, you know, need anything…"

"You'll be the first one I call," she assured him, still smiling.

He'd never admitted it to her, but those had probably been the most relieving words he had ever heard. They were like a promise, only this time between the two of them. They were an unspoken promise where he would give everything he had to take care of her, and in turn, she would lean on him, and do everything she could to take care of him as well. It was a new promise that meant everything to him, and to protect it – and her – he would give up everything he owned.


	2. Nightmares Pt1

_**IDIL's Note:** So...I don't know what's wrong with me. XD I intended for this to be around 300 words, and it turned out to be 1,300 words. :P Oh well, just a little off the mark! Either way, hope you enjoy. :) _

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Naruto.

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"Kakashi…take care of Rin…"

Kakashi blinked his mismatched eyes open, taking in the surprisingly unfamiliar scene. He had heard Obito's voice many times before, but it had always been accompanied by the death scene…it was so strange for him to be seen sitting down casually in a large meadow, grinning like always. Beside the Uchiha stood his former sensei, leaning against a nearby tree calmly.

"Kakashi," his cerulean eyes peered at the young boy wisely, "it's been a while."

"How does it feel now that you've been Sharingan'd?!"

The Hatake fell to his knees, stunned. "Damn it…how can you be here?! I've…missed the both of you…"

The scene before him suddenly turned ugly as a winter wind came over the meadow and deposited a thick layer of snow. Obito's face had turned to a scowl, and Minato's eyes become like those of a predator.

"Missed me, have you really?" Obito sneered, "You seemed to have no problem leaving me for dead on that mission! You didn't care about me at all…! You don't seem to have any problem now with taking Rin away from me! You know you don't even deserve her friendship, right?! You know it should have been me with her! You…You should have stayed out of the picture!"

"Obito…I…you're right…"

"So Kakashi, Obito gets daily visits to the memorial stone and I get a visit what? Maybe once a year, if I'm lucky? Nice to know that my student thought so highly of me…"

"Sensei, that's not…!"

"You're pathetic…they should never have made you a jounin anyway. You weren't ready for that; genius you may have been, but you were the team's biggest failure."

"What?" Kakashi stared down at the snow, fists shaking as he fought to maintain his composure. "I'm sorry! I…I want us all to be a team…again…I wish I could take it all back…"

"Ha, you hear that Sensei? He wants us to be a team again. Oh, how cute," Obito mocked him, Sharingan eye boring a hole of hate through his soul. "I've had enough! There's no way we'd be on a team with you; all you've ever done is hurt people! You've never cared, so don't you dare bother to start now! Scum of the earth!"

Kakashi had a feeling that the Uchiha would have continued on forever had it not been for a gentle voice that came behind the trees. "Obito…it's good to see you again…Sensei, you too…"

Obito whirled around to the source of the voice, all malevolence forgotten as he smiled affectionately at her. "Rin…you're even more beautiful than I remember…"

She smiled back up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "Obito…I've missed you so much…! Please come back!"

He embraced her tightly, and turned his head back towards Kakashi. "I was just explaining to Kakashi here that we can't go back…that we can never be a team."

"I miss you Obito…" she murmured into his shoulder, "It hurts only having Kakashi there…"

"Kakashi, you bastard! What is the meaning of all this? Why is she so sad? Didn't I tell you to take care of her?! Isn't that what you promised me you would do, even if it cost you your life!?"

Before he could establish what was happening, Kakashi found himself lying on the ground, sporting a bruised jaw. He shifted restlessly, trying to sit back up and continue his apology, but suddenly he got dizzy, and the world started spinning…

When the wave of dizziness passed, Kakashi opened his eyes again, only to be met with a new scene. The trees he had previously seen were all shrivelled and dead, the sky was a deep red, and the grass beneath him had turned brown. Looking up he saw his teammates, changed into demonic creatures, their features the epitome of the grotesque. In unision they all lunged at him, and he quickly sprang to his feet, desperate to get away. It had been nice to see them, but…but he didn't want to look at them anymore…not when they all were like this. Behind him they roared like monsters, hurling shrieking insults at him like sharp projectiles. "Traitor!"

"Bastard!"

"Failure!"

Kakashi panted from exhaustion; they'd been chasing him a while now…he didn't have long before they caught up with him. He looked back at their faces, frightened by the scene, and in his moment of inattentiveness he fell to the ground, tripping over a dead tree root. Horrified when he saw they were gaining on him, he scrambled quickly but found that he was unable to move; the tree root had animated itself and was now holding him back by the ankles. Frantically he pulled at the roots, desperate to free himself. But it was too late now. All three of his former teammates, fully distorted by the nightmare, were hovering over at him, their mouths wide and their eyes bloodthirsty. They leered at him, their claws and fangs bared. "He is not one of us!"

"He is not our teammate!"

"He is not our friend!"

Kakashi felt like a small child, cowering under their vicious presence. And then suddenly, they were gone. He opened his right eye, only to see everything had returned to normal, and they were now leaving, their backs mere shadows in the light of the sun. "No…" He reached out his hand, supporting himself on a nearby tree. "No…" He continued to stare at their retreating figures, his feet bolted to the ground out of trepidation. "No! Don't leave!" He called after them but his shouts fell on deaf ears. He took a shaky step, placing one foot in front of the other as he regained his balance. "Don't leave me here! Take me with you!" He ran after them now, sprinting at a speed he didn't even know he possessed. Despite his tiredness, he pushed himself onwards, hysterical to catch up with them again. Finally his knees gave out, and he fell back to the ground, watching them dissapear into the shadows with a helpless look in his eyes. He punched the earth with his fists, doubling over. "Damn it…don't leave me alone…"

The scene fell away from him, and he opened his eyes to a dark bedroom. Kakashi sighed miserably; it had all been a dream. "Kakashi?"

He turned towards the source of the sound, and found his former teammate staring up at him worriedly from beneath her blanket. She didn't bother to ask him if he was ok: she already knew the answer to that question. Instead she smiled up at him warmly, a sad look in her eyes, and said, "You're not alone. I'm always here for you."

He looked away, ashamed that she had heard what he'd been saying in his dream. Then he remembered Obito's words… "_Why is she so sad? Didn't I tell you to take care of her?!" _He stared at his hands, embarrassed for what he was about to say. "Thank you…I'm sorry that I haven't noticed you've been hurting…"

Rin sat up, staring at him in surprise. He had noticed…? "And what's more," he continued, glad for the cover of darkness, "Please let me take care of you from now on. I promised to, and every time you keep something from me, you make me break my promise, Rin."

"I don't want to trouble you…"

"But you have to. If you don't trouble me with what is bothering you, you're troubling me even more because I have to worry about what you're thinking."

"I see…I am sorry to have made you worry. I will tell you from now on." She suddenly smiled up at him, feeling exponentially better. "Thank you, Kakashi. Let's do our best to take care of each other from now on, ok?"

His eye crinkled up in smile as well. "Ok."


	3. Nightmares Pt2

_**IDIL's Note:** So, here's another chapter for Bits & Pieces. :) It's pretty angsty, so hope you'll all be enjoying that. ;)I have to apologize in advance if I don't update for a while, for I will be insanely busy these coming weeks, and then school will start, so I don't know how much time I'll have available to dedicate to writing. But I hope you can all enjoy this fic so far. :D_

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Naruto.

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Kakashi knew that he wasn't the only one who had nightmares. Realistically speaking, it would have been impossible. He also knew that he wasn't the only one who had nightmares about _that_.

Sure Rin had woken him up from many nightmares about the incident – Obito's death – but he had also woken her up from a few of the more frightening ones. Unlike her, he never remembered what he dreamt about, and he could never remember what he told her that she dreamt about, so the nightmares didn't really have a way of reaching him outside of his sleep. She didn't have that luxury.

It had been a particularly clear night, with only a few clouds looming over the Hokage monument when it happened. He had been tossing and turning restlessly, feeling much too sore and hot under the covers to even consider sleep as a possibility. He had just returned from another mission to Earth Country where he had been stuck in torrential rains for the better part of three days, and when he arrived home Rin was already asleep so he let his remaining kunai fall beside him with a light clang and collapsed on the mattress. Kakashi was just about ready to call it quits with sleeping for the night and go take a shower instead, when he suddenly heard Rin whimper beside him.

"Don't kill him…"

"Rin?"

"Don't…please…please don't kill him…"

"Are you ok?"

"Don't hurt him!" She lay spread-eagled on her mattress, squirming and twitching as though someone was restraining her by her hands and feet. "No don't! No, please! Obito!" She was crying now, tears running down her face uncontrollably. "You didn't have to kill him!" Rin yelled at the imaginary person restraining her. "He was just a kid! He didn't have anything to do with this! No, Obito!"

Her face was now contorted with anger and she shook uncontrollably, beating her heels and fists against the hardwood floors in an attempt to escape the grasp of her imaginary captor. Kakashi watched the scene unfold with morbid enthralment. He knew that she suffered from many of the same type of nightmares that plagued him, but he never imagined that they could manifest themselves in such a real manner. It was both frightening and fascinating to watch her fight against them.

Kakashi only seemed to return to reality when he realized that she had managed to free her left side from the grasp of her captor, who was still on top of her, pinning the rest of her body down, and she reached out her hand, grabbing a kunai that Kakashi had discarded upon his return. She gripped it tightly in her left hand, her face livid. "How dare you kill him?! Die!" Rin brought her hand up, aiming it high above her side, and brought it down steadily towards her captor. What she failed to realize was that she was dreaming, her captor was imaginary, and the only thing the very real kunai would pierce was her own abdomen. Kakashi caught up with her actions a little slowly, and barely found the time to almost quite literally throw himself on top of her before the kunai made contact with his shoulder. In her nightmare, Rin must have believed that the captor had managed to stop the kunai before it took out one of his vital organs for the look on her face quickly became fearful. "No…no…no! She tried to move her hand again, take the kunai out, but it was too tightly embedded in Kakashi's shoulder. Rin screamed; she needed help or she would die.

"Help! Someone help! Kakashi, help!"

Despite the pain in his shoulder, Kakashi helped himself to his feet, releasing Rin and sat beside her. "Rin, I'm right here."

She smiled in his direction, relief flooding her. "Thank you Kakashi."

"Rin, wake up." As if in response to his command, her eyes fluttered open, turning to stare at him in shock. Her hand had long since stopped gripping the kunai in his back, and she was left only with the feeling of blood dripping down her wrist.

"Kakashi, was I dreaming?"

"Yes," he replied, leaning over to get a better look at her face. She was shaken up, that much he could tell. He winced involuntarily at the pain in his shoulder; she had dug the kunai fairly deep into his skin.

Rin noticed the change immediately, and gasped. "Oh my god, Kakashi, what happened?"

He didn't answer her question, but instead stared into her eyes. "I will protect you. You understand that, right? I will always protect you."

"Kakashi…?" She regarded him quizzically: what was he saying? She knew that he promised to protect her, and that he did a pretty damn good job of it, but why was he bringing this up now? And more importantly, why did her hand feel so wet? She turned on the lamp beside her, and surveyed her left hand with disbelief; it was covered in blood. Being the intelligent person she was, Rin established what had happened in a matter of seconds. She had been the one to stick the kunai in Kakashi. "Kakashi, I'm so sorry! How did I…?"

"You were having a bad dream, don't worry about it."

Rin looked at the wound helplessly, tears beginning to block her vision. "Kakashi…I…I'm sorry! But how did I…?" She was still confused as to why he was the one injured, and why on his back? Had she turned on her side and stabbed him? No, that wasn't possible; if she had been turned, she would have had her left arm under her. Then…the only possibility… "Oh my god. No… Kakashi, did I strike you from above? Then…it would have been…me who would have been struck. Kakashi, why? You didn't…You didn't have to."

"I promised to protect you. Even if that means from yourself."

"Kakashi," the tears flowed freely from her eyes now, and she resisted the urge to throw herself at him and engulf him in the biggest hug ever. "I'm…I'm…"

He cut her off, smiling slightly up at her despite the throbbing pain in his shoulder. "Hey, I said don't worry about it, ok?"

She nodded, wiping away her tears and sniffling. "Ok," she smiled widely back at him, and he could have sworn that some of the pain disappeared. "Let's get you all cleaned up, and I'll dress your wounds after."

Kakashi nodded in compliance, and reached his left hand over his right shoulder to remove the kunai. She stopped him immediately and removed the weapon herself, gasping as she noticed just how deep the gash went. She felt ashamed again, but like always, he just told her not to trouble herself over him, that he'd be fine, and she relented with her apologies. As Rin finished dressing his wounds gently while he sat patiently in front of her, she laid her head against his back, relaxing at the rhythmic pace of his breathing. "Kakashi?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Hm?" He replied, closing his eye in exhaustion as well. Strangely enough, he felt relaxed as well; her heartbeat was almost like a lullaby.

"Thank you," she pressed her lips to the now healing wound that she had inflicted on his shoulder. "I love you."

"Hm."


End file.
